Displaying items by tag: Northeast Passage

9th October 2015

Guo Chuan Arrives Back in Hometown

Guo Chuan and his trimaran Qingdao China arrived back in his hometown of Qingdao last week. After 25 days of sailing on the sea since the departure from Murmansk, local media and fans waited for Qingdao China’s arrival early in the morning on September 27. Guo climbed to the top of the mast, lit fireworks while waving to fans cheering for him from dinghies and on land.

Amid crowds of people and media, Guo and his five elite crew, Jochen Krauth (France), Sergei Nizovtsev (Russia), Boris Herrmann (Germany), Quentin Monegier (France) and Tim Bastian Frank (Germany, media crew) took the stage.

Departing from Murmansk on September 3, Qingdao China crossed the start line at 13.41 UTC and started the attempt to challenge the first non-stop sailing world record across the Arctic Ocean's Northeast Passage. It took her only 13 days to complete the 3240nm voyage and set a new world record before crossing the finish line on the Bering Strait at 16h45 UTC September 15.

When Guo Chuan and his crew arrived at Qingdao, they received the warmest welcome from local people. Red carpet under foot, garlands around their necks, and a traditional Chinese celebration team beating gongs and sounding drums next to the stage, they were hailed by the city of Qingdao as heroes.

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Chinese Skipper Guo Chuan Reaches Halfway Point of World Record Attempt

Guo Chuan and his international crew of four sailors and one media crew, have reached the halfway point of their Arctic Ocean World Record Challenge, six days after departing from Murmansk, Russia and headed for the Bering Strait via the Northeast Passage.The team has already set one record.

According to the team’s weather expert Frenchmen Christian Dumard, it is the first time ever that a racing boat has sailed so far north. The 97-foot trimaran "Qingdao China" reached 78°33’25 North on Tuesday afternoon, just 1271 km (790 miles) from the North Pole, and the most northerly point of their journey.

As Afloat reported earlier, The crew plans to sail the entire Northeast Passage non-stop from Murmansk to the Bering Strait between Alaska (U.S.A) and Russia, the quickest route from Europe to the Pacific, expecting to set the first non-stop sailing world record for the Northeast Passage in the process. The voyage is about 3300 nautical miles and expected to be completed within two weeks around September 14. To celebrate reaching the halfway point, the crew enjoyed some Chinese moon cakes and a little Russian Vodka.Along with skipper Guo Chuan, Qingdao China’s crew includes Frenchmen Jochen Krauth (Baie de Quiberon) and Quentin Monegier (La Trinité-sur-Mer), Germans Boris Herrmann (Kiel) and media crew Tim Bastian Frank (Hamburg), and Sergei Nizovtsev from Russia.

Monegier has also been celebrating the birth of a baby son Lucien, on the day of the departure. He has received baby photos to his phone via Inmarsat satellite.

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Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.